A Phantom Reality
by PhantomWriterDenver
Summary: If they had never even made that stupid portal, none of this wouldn't have happened - no ghost powers, no ghost fighting, no secret identity. "I never asked for this. Sometimes I wished I never got these powers in the first place..." Looking at the Reality Gauntlet in his hands, Danny knew he had the power to create the perfect life that he had always dreamed of...or so he thought.
1. Chapter 1

Hello Phanfic readers! I'm PhantomWriterDenver and this is my first story! I hope you enjoy - please leave me reviews so I can improve my writing. I'll try to upload a new chapter every week or so, but no promises because college is rough :P Also, I do not own Danny Phantom. Here's the first chapter!

 _*Directly following the events of Reality Trip*_

"Danny!" Jack called as Danny landed before the Fenton, Manson, and Foley families after just having defeated Freak Show and preserving the world to the way it's supposed to be.

"Young man," his mother said sternly, both of his parents looking at him with dismayed expressions.

Danny began to apologize for lying to his parents for all this time, since the accident in their lab. "I- I'm sorry..." He knew his parents would be furious with him for hiding his secret, but how could he not? They always talked about catching his alter ego and ripping him apart molecule by molecule. Anyone would be terrified in his shoes. He would've been strewn up in his parents lab as they ran test after test on him if they knew who he really was.

His parents, along with Sam's and Tucker's steadily marched towards Danny Phantom like a SWAT team about to detain their target.

"Sorry doesn't explain...this," Maddie Fenton exclaimed, motioning to his ghostly appearance. Danny was starting to panic. He had run the scenario of telling his parents about his powers through his head countless times, but hoped that the revelation would've gone smoother than it currently was.

"I- I'm-" Danny just stared at the ground, eyes racing between various spots in the grass searching for the words to say.

Sam and Tucker ran around the hoard of angry parents to stand between them and their best friend. "We can explain!" They both pleaded with their parents.

"Your _secret_ put us in grave danger, Fenton!" Sam's mother spat.

 _I didn't mean for this to happen, it's not my fault..._ Danny started to panic, not knowing what to say or do, just frozen.

Sam was quick to defend Danny from her mother, "This isn't his fault!"

"Danny just saved us!" Tucker added.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Danny whispered frantically under his breath, not asking anyone in particular.

Danny fell to his knees, reverting back to the black-haired, blue-eyed Fenton behind the protection of his best friends. He couldn't really hear what was being said, only a buzz heated voices rising in volume as they continued on.

"And this isn't the first time we've had an incident with ghosts," Tucker's father chimed in.

"That's right!" The Foley's and Manson's began bickering back and forth, listing off all the run ins they've had with ghosts. Mr. Manson suddenly pointed a stiff finger at Jack, and hollered, "It's all Fenton's fault!"

"How is this _my_ fault? That's not my son!"

Danny felt as if he'd been stabbed in the heart by an ice spear _. Not your son?_ He was still of the same flesh and blood, just a little rearranged. The ice cold pain in his heart suddenly turned to a fiery rage as Danny recalled the agony he experienced when he first got his powers. He was _electrocuted_ in his parents lab because of a faulty ghost portal that _they_ created! It was _his_ fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't _his_ fault his meddling parents were so obsessed with ghosts in the first place! If they had never even made that stupid portal, none of this wouldn't have happened - no ghost powers, no ghost fighting, no secret identity.

A low growl escaped Danny's clenched jaw as his raven black hair covered his eyes. He shot to his feet abruptly, hunched over with broad shoulders. Sam and Tucker jumped back, taken by surprise at his unexpected movement.

"It IS your fault! You and your stupid portal! That's the reason I'm like this!" The others stood at a standstill, not sure of how to react to the teen's outburst. Sam and Tucker looked at their friend worriedly from where they stood.

" I would've been better off if I had parents that weren't so fucking obsessed with ghosts!"

"Daniel Fenton! You will not spea-"

"I'm not your son? You were the one that made me what I am!" White rings appeared at Danny's waist and travelled along his body to reveal a black and white jumpsuit, followed by snow white hair and glowing green eyes. "I never asked for this. Sometimes I wished I never got these powers in the first place..." His voice steadied, and he visibly calmed as he lifted his right hand which was gloved with the Reality Gauntlet, eyeing the four gems that could change everything.

"Danny wait!" Sam and Tucker realized too late what Danny was planning to do.

"And now I have the power to change that."

"Danny, don't do it!"

Danny began typing out a sequence on the gems, when Sam and Tucker froze mid-run.

"Time out."

Time had stopped, but not by Danny's hand. A blue ghost cloaked in purple appeared floating above where Danny stood, time staff in hand.

Danny only took a moment to recover his composure, "Don't stop me Clockwork, I don't want these powers anymore. They put my friends and family in danger constantly and I can't protect them anymore. I thought I was getting stronger, but so were the other ghosts." Danny paused before determining what he wanted to do with the reality-changing power brimming in his hand. "I want to go back to before the accident."

Clockwork spoke for the first time since halting time," You cannot -"

"Why not?!" Danny cried desperately, already knowing what the ancient ghost was going to say.

"By going back that far, you run the risk of creating an alternate timeline."

"We both know multiple timelines exist simultaneously as we speak."

"You may never have met Sam and Tucker."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Daniel..." Clockwork said, disappointment lingering on the name.

Danny dropped the gauntlet to his side, and looked at his two best friends on either side of him. Tucker's beret was suspended in the air behind his body, probably knocked off when he jumped towards Danny to try to stop him. Sam was closer to where Danny stood, no doubt faster to react than Tuck. Something glimmered in her eye, and when Danny took a step closer, he saw a tear frozen at the corner of her eye just shy of cascading down her cheek.

He couldn't lose them, it was a chance he wasn't willing to take. They meant too much to him, but he was sick and tired of putting them in danger because of his ghost powers.

"I can't do this anymore. They don't deserve this," Danny said, looking up at Clockwork who had transitioned from an old man with a white beard to just a young kid.

"There is another option," Clockwork hinted, nodding towards the Reality Gauntlet that laid limply at Danny's side.

Danny looked beside him, but only took a moment to convince himself of what he needed to do. He activated the gems and paused briefly. "I'm sorry," he said to his friends as he raised the gauntlet in front of him and dispelled it's reality-changing power.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter! Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter and are returning for more! I hope you enjoy :)**

 _It was always the same...Him, Sam, and Tucker were enjoying a nice day together at the amusement park over summer break. Everything was perfect: no school, no parents, no ghosts. They were all just normal teenagers living it up over summer vacation before ultimately going back to the daily grind of Casper High._

 _It was the summer before senior year. They periodically talked about where they were all planning to go after graduation, trying to formulate a plan to stay together during college. Danny had always wanted to work for NASA, so he set his sights on studying aerospace technologies. Tucker the technology whiz wanted to learn more about computer programming, databases, hacking and the like. Sam was still undecided what kind of major she wanted to go for, but she was leaning more towards wildlife biology. The problem facing the trio was finding a university that could accommodate all three majors they wanted to pursue. There was a state university just two hours out of Amity Park, but they still had a full year to think about where they were headed._

 _"How about this one?" Sam asked excitedly pointing to the amusement park map. She had been eyeing the Fright Knight coaster since they had arrived. It was the park's tallest and fastest dive coaster, so Sam was eager to give it a try. Danny quickly agreed, much to Tucker's dismay, but they all filed in line and waited as they slowly approached the loading deck._

 _As Danny drifted into a daydream, he could just hear the screams of the coaster's passengers over the muffle of his thoughtlessness. He was trapped in a sweet dream, wishing he could freeze this very moment, a simpleton's paradise. Just spending time with his two best friends without a care in the world was perfect and he wouldn't change it for anything._

 _Suddenly, someone was yanking hard at his arm, and as he came back to reality the cries for help pierced his ears. With a harsh blink, the fog cleared from his vision and he could see Sam in front of him, desperately begging him to snap out of his daze as Tucker stared wide-eyed in a panic at the scene unfolding before them._

 _The sky seemed to open up, like a giant sword was arched across the clouds, slicing into some psychedelic purple dimension, and from that bizarre space came an army of ghosts. The hoard of green, zombie-like ghosts cascaded down into the theme park, causing a mass panic and stampede of people frantically trying to run for cover._

 _Danny finally jumped into action. He grabbed Sam by the wrist and pulled her alongside him as Tucker was following closely behind._

 _"Dude! We gotta do something!" Tucker called out to Danny over the deafening screams and stomping of people running as fast as they could._

 _"There's too many people here!" Danny hollered back, afraid someone would witness his transformation. "This way!" They took a sharp turn to the left, directly into the stream of panicking people. Danny shielded Sam with his body as people diverted their paths just in time to dodge the trio. Their momentum was significantly slower, but eventually the stream of people lightened up to a trickle of stragglers flailing about trying to escape the ghosts that were heading right for them._

 _Eventually, they came to a clearing towards the rear of the park, where everyone had since evacuated._

 _"Here," Danny announced as they came to a halt, doubling over in an attempt to catch their breath. They turned to look behind them at the ghosts that were just now descending into theme park. But the army of rotting zombies isn't what scared the group. They were just low-level ghosts that Danny Phantom could take out on his own without a problem. No, that's not what had them shaking in their boots, so to speak. Back in the rip in the Earth's atmosphere was a massive ghost that Danny had never seen before. It had to crouch through the portal just to fit! But once it finally came into view, Danny was able to take in the monstrosity in its entirety._

 _Its skin was blood red, with thick lines of black running across its bare chest, over both shoulders, and down its arms. Its hands were long and slender with black, dragon-like claws. No doubt the aftermath of an epic battle. Its tail was long and spiked with a massive spade at the tip. The ghost was bulkily built, but not like Jaba the Hut, more like the Hulk. And its horns...its horns weren't uniform, but twisted and arched in odd directions. They were pitch black, and definitely sharp. The thing looked like a demonic chimera: it had the chest of a man, the legs and arms of a lizard with claws and a tail of a dragon, the horns of a ram, and the head of one too. Danny didn't know what to think of it._

 _"Great, what does he want?" Danny mumbled under his breath._

 _The beast intently scanned the hoards of park-goers for the one he had come to seek out. His massive head came to a stop as he spotted three lone bodies just standing in a clearing towards the back of the park._

 _"Phantommm," His voice was so deep and menacing it seemed to shake the very ground Danny was standing on._

 _Immediately a swarm of minion ghosts surrounded the trio. Danny dropped into a defensive stance, taken off guard by their sudden appearance. He spun around to take in the full extent of the army blocking any chance of escape. Behind him he heard a sharp scream and furiously spun around to see Sam and Tucker taken hostage by two to three ghosts each._

 _"Let them go!" Danny began to charge towards the rear of the formation, but stopped dead in his tracks as the voice sounded again, this time much closer._

 _"Phantommm." The ghost must have teleported down from the portal it had just crawled out of because he was now standing directly behind the ghost boy._

 _Coming out of his crouch and balling his hands into tight fists as he slowly turned to face the chimera ghost, Danny demanded to know what it was he wanted._

 _"Why have you come to my world?" Danny spat, his carefully enunciated words coated with anger from the heat that was building up in his throat._

 _The beast was so massive that its words and movements seemed to play out in slow motion. He started to lean down with his 3-clawed deformed hand outstretched and heading straight for Danny._

 _"IIIII have commme for youuu, Young Phantommm."_

 _But before Danny could speak or even transform, he was struck hard in the back by something unseen, and dropped to his knees. He could hear Sam screaming out, but she sounded so far away. He didn't understand why she was crying...He looked down at the gaping hole in his chest from where the spike on the chimera ghost's tail had just penetrated his body. His vision became spotted, his senses and balance seemed to disappear as he plunged into the darkness with nothing but the low rumbling cackle of the ghost reverberating in his head before everything went black._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Danny woke with a start, glistening beads of sweat flying through the air as he sat bolt upright in his bed. He was breathing heavily and felt hot to the touch, a result of the recurring nightmare he just experienced for what seemed like the millionth time.

There was a pinching sensation in the center of his chest, where he had been speared by the ghost's tail in his dream. Instinctively, he brought his hand up and gripped his chest at the origin of the pain. Under his fingertips he felt the cool metal of a charm necklace which must've flown out from under his shirt collar in his panic just moments earlier.

The charm was a time medallion, given to him by Clockwork after his parents had unfortunately learned of his alter ego. "A gift," Clockwork had said as he handed a thin silver chain with a TW gearpiece charm to Danny. Clockwork dropped it into the outstretched palm of Danny's gloved hand, and explained, "It may be of use to you for future incidents." Danny was a bit skeptical...what kind of future incidents? As far as he was concerned, he wanted nothing more to do with ghost fighting.

"It's power is limited and activated by your ghostly aura."

"Clockwork, I don't-"

"It'll pause time in the human world, but only for a short period. Use it wisely." With that, the Master of Time disappeared, and left Danny to interpret the gift on his own.

Now, 3 days later, Danny sat in the darkness of his room, still confused as to why Clockwork had given him the medallion as he twirled the chain and charm between his fingers absentmindedly.

He looked over at the clock sitting upon his bedside table: 5:48am. It was still way too early to head to school, but after his fright, Danny knew he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.

He decided to get up and take a long warm shower, hoping it would put his nerves and his mind at ease. He stood beneath the steamy waterfall, letting the water hit his face as the heat penetrated his body. It felt so good, he got lost in the warm sensation. He thought back to his nightmare, but just the beginning. He wished that much of it was real - just the three of them enjoying life, minus the ghosts. Just three completely normal teenagers enjoying their last summer of high school before graduation. Spending every day with his best friend and girlfriend without a care in the world.

He smiled at the thought of Sam being his girlfriend, but was jerked back to reality when the shampoo bottle slipped from the shelf and fell to the floor with a loud crash. Danny flinched at the sudden noise, but just sighed, picking up the bottle and squeezing some of its contents into his hand.

After his shower, Danny blindly reached into his closet and pulled out a white NASA t-shirt. He fixed his hair as he popped his head through, then pulled on a pair of his favorite jeans. Lastly, he strapped on his well-worn red converse and made sure Clockwork's medallion was safely tucked beneath the collar of his shirt.

It was now just after 6:30am, and his mother Maddie was just starting to make breakfast in the kitchen. His father Jack was sitting at the table fiddling with his latest invention which apparently wasn't working properly. Jazz hadn't come down from her room yet, so she was probably sleeping in this morning.

"Morning, son!" Jack called as Danny walked down the stairs. Danny just grunted, pulled a jacket off the coat rack, yanked the hood up over his head, slung his backpack over one shoulder and proceeded out the front door. His mother protested saying he needed his morning protein, but the last thing Danny wanted to do was sit in a room alone with his parents.

 _At least the Reality Gauntlet did its job on them._ They might not remember the events of 3 days ago, courtesy of the Reality Gauntlet, but Danny remembered everything with clarity. The phrase "not my son" rang through his head as a grim reminder of how his father had denounced his own flesh and blood. He shook the thought from his head and continued on down the sidewalk to Casper High.

The sun had already risen, but the streets were still relatively empty. Danny enjoyed the silence: He found it almost peaceful. It was the calm before the storm. He was about to see Sam and Tucker for the first time since his battle with FreakShow over the Reality Gauntlet. He had ignored them all weekend, and they had no idea why. He knew he would be bombarded with questions, but he just didn't have the energy for it. He thought about skipping, but he couldn't skip forever. He would eventually have to face them whether or not he wanted to. He just hoped that the Reality Gauntlet had done its job properly, and that they wouldn't remember anything...

Danny was a little edgy as he sat down at his desk in homeroom, dreading the arrival of the rest of the students including Sam and Tucker. The first bell rang. They would be here any moment.

Sam walked in first, quickly followed by an out of breath Tucker.

"Yo, dude, where ya been?" Tucker asked as he took the seat next to Danny. Sam settled in the chair directly behind Danny and asked, "Everything okay?" before he could answer Tucker's question.

"Hmm? Yeah, just didn't feel good." Danny laid his head down on his desk, hoping to deflect any other questions they may have.

"Oh," Tucker said blandly as the second bell rang at 7:10, signaling the beginning of homeroom.

Danny wanted to test if the Reality Gauntlet had done what he commanded it to, but he didn't know how to bring it up. He just rested his head upon the desktop and traced the outline of the medallion beneath his shirt with his index finger as the morning announcements came through over the intercom. He played out various scenarios in his head, but ultimately decided to wait for an opportunity that wasn't as obvious as asking "So do you know who Danny Phantom is?"

Luckily, he didn't have to wait very long.

"Whoa, have you seen this?" Sam was scrolling through some online news site on her phone.

"What?" Tucker asked intrigued, leaning across the aisle to get a better view of the screen.

Sam read the article title aloud, just above a whisper as to not attract the attention of Mr. Lancer who was taking attendance at the front of the room. "Danny Phantom defends Amity Park against reality-altering Ringleader."

 _Shit!_ Danny totally forgot about all the media coverage of his fight with FreakShow. _Idiot!_ He abruptly turned in his chair, and grabbed the phone from Sam's hands. He frantically scrolled through the article, praying there were no pictures.

Nothing. _Phew!_

"What, are you Phantom's biggest fan all of a sudden?" Tucker joked, taking the phone from Danny so that he could read the article himself.

"Huh, what?" Danny was dumbfounded. _Did they really not know?_ He went along with it. "What do _you_ think of him?"

"I think the dude's a hero!" Tucker exclaimed, earning him a stern look from Lancer. "He protects Amity Park from ghost attacks and never wants anything in return. He's like the Superman of ghosts, ya know?"

"I don't get it though," Sam jumped in the conversation as Tucker returned her phone to her. "Why is a ghost fighting other ghosts? And why is he protecting Amity Park of all places?"

 _So far so good._ "So you don't like him?" Danny asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"She doesn't have an opinion on the guy," Tucker mockingly answered for her.

"I just don't understand what his motives are."

"I think she secretly has a crush on him," Tucker whispered to Danny.

"Do not!" Sam huffed as her cheeks turned pink, giving her away.

All three of them quietly chuckled amongst themselves. Danny's edgy mood visibly seemed to have lifted a bit as his facial expressions softened. He was relieved that the Reality Gauntlet had indeed worked, and that his friends no longer knew that the ghost boy was in fact sitting right next to them. But his relief was short lived, just until the realization sunk in that now he was completely alone...


	4. Chapter 4

NOTICE: Sorry this is a bit of a boring chapter with no real action, but I have to build up the story somehow :) Enjoy! Feel free to comment thoughts or recommendations too! I'd love to hear what you think about the story thus far :)

 **Chapter 4**

"Wanna go to the Nasty Burger after school?" Tucker asked Danny and Sam as they waited for Mr. Lancer to start his English lecture.

"You just ate," Sam pointed out.

"I'm gonna be hungry again in 2 hours!"

Danny chuckled. With all the stress of ghost fighting, he had forgotten how carefree his friends used to be. Now that they had no recollection of what their previous after school activities used to be, they seemed happier and more full of life. Danny never really noticed if they got tired of all the ghost fighting, maybe it was just him who was fed up with it. The responsibility of protecting the town was heavy on his shoulders, but he never stopped to think how Sam and Tucker felt about it. All he knew was that his ghost fighting constantly put his best friends in danger, and he was scared that one day he would fail them. He would never forgive himself if they got hurt because of his alter ego and knowing his secret.

So far it seemed that the Gauntlet's memory erase had worked like a charm. There was only one uncertainty remaining - were all the memories of Danny Phantom replaced by fake ones or were there just holes in Sam and Tucker's memories? If there were just holes in their memories, Danny figured it would only be a matter of time before they started connecting the dots to fill in the blanks. He would have to confront Clockwork about it before too long.

Speaking of Clockwork, Danny's mind wondered back to the medallion he had safely tucked beneath his shirt collar. _What does he mean by "it can stop time in the human world"_? Hopefully there wouldn't come a time where Danny would be forced to use it...

"Danny!"

"Aish!" Danny blurted, abruptly broken from his train of thought.

"You in, or what?" Tucker was asking him.

"In? In for wha- Oh yeah! Sure!" He suddenly remembered and agreed to go to the popular teenage hangout after school. He hadn't been to the Nasty Burger since forever ago. Come to think of it, he hadn't done anything fun or relaxing in quite some time. He had always been so preoccupied with either patrolling for ghosts or sending them back to the Ghost Zone. _This should be fun_ , he thought. And he was looking forward to just getting to spend some non-combat time with his best friends.

...

The last bell rang to signal the end of class and the end of the day. Danny had a separate last period than Tucker and Sam, so he walked to back to his locker alone. He seemed to have a little extra bounce in his step, as he was actually excited to go do normal teenage things. He made it back to the lockers before the other two, so he just decided to wait in the front of the school.

"There you are!" Sam called as she emerged from the flood of people exiting the school.

"We thought you bailed, dude," Tucker said as he walked up beside Danny, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Wouldn't miss it." Danny nudged him back, underestimating his strength and nearly knocking Tucker sideways into the bushes. He quickly caught him and stabilized his friend's posture before shyly rubbing the back of his head awkwardly while mumbling an apology.

"Sheesh, man, you been working out lately?"

Danny just chuckled, "Something like that."

Soon the trio of friends were off on their way to the Nasty Burger in downtown Amity Park. As they walked, they each took turns talking about their weekends and their Monday of school. Sam said she just spent the weekend at the local library binge reading a new supernatural romance from her favorite author, and Tucker, no surprise, checked in for a couple of late nights at the video arcade.

"Yeah, man, I tried hitting you up, but your phone was off every time I called."

"Uh yeah, silly me, I lost my phone and couldn't find it because it died. Turns out I left it in my parent's lab and forgot I left it down there," Danny answered off the top of his head. It certainly wasn't the first time he had to formulate a lie on the spot, he had had plenty of practice with his folks, but he felt odd lying to his best friends.

"Did your folks create some new ghost weapon or something?" Sam asked, slightly intrigued.

"Uh yeah, but some of the wiring was faulty, so my mom just worked on it solo over the weekend."

"So what did you do all weekend?" Tucker asked, not satisfied with his answer.

"I, uh, wasn't feeling too good, so I pretty much just stayed in bed."

Sam and Tucker didn't seem to buy his story, especially since he stuttered, but they didn't question him any further, much to Danny's relief. It wasn't a total lie, he did stay in his room pretty much the entirety of the weekend, but he wasn't physically ailing. His mental state of mind on the other hand, needed some attention. But it seemed this after school outing was doing the trick.

As the three best friends waited for their orders of burgers and milkshakes to be fulfilled, they gossiped about the latest comics and movies set to come out. Danny was pretty content with the conversation despite not being up to date with the latest movie releases or comic issues. He was amazed at how much he was missing out on while always ghost fighting, but he quickly pushed that thought aside as to refrain from putting a damper on his bright mood. He joined in where he could, but also didn't mind just listening to Sam and Tucker as they argued whether the new take on the Deadpool movie was better than Suicide Squad.

After their food arrived, the conversation trailed off a bit as everyone was busy stuffing their faces. Danny and Sam burst into a volley of chuckles as Tucker obliviously gave himself a whipped cream mustache from his chocolate milkshake.

"What?" Tucker just stared at them. A fleck of cream went flying as he spoke. Sam stole one of Danny's fries and held it horizontally across her upper lip, simulating a mustache like Tucker's. Licking his lips to clear away the sugary goodness, he joined in the laughter.

"Damn, I should've gotten a picture!" Sam joked. "No you certainly should not have," Tucker rebutted. The group giggled some more before returning to their food.

After regaining his composure, Danny brought his burger up to take a bite, but when he opened his mouth, an icy blue wisp of frosty breath escaped his lips...


	5. Chapter 5

Hello again! I just want to take a hot sec to thank you for following the story! I hope you will continue to show your support :) Here's Chapter 5 for you! This is by far my favorite chapter so far, so I hope you guys will enjoy it. Also, leave reviews for me! I love seeing people commenting on my story, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask! I'd love to get a chance to talk to some of the readers :) Now, without further adieu, Chapter 5!

The frosty blue mist indicative of nearby ghosts escaped Danny's lips as he leaned in for another bite of his burger. He failed to notice the cool chill to his spine that usually accompanied the release of his ghost sense probably because he had grown so used to the sensation after so often experiencing it. He didn't think much of it, and continued to chow down on his grease laden Nasty burger. At least until he glanced up to see Sam staring at him from across the table with a blank expression on her face.

"Uh, what was that?" Tucker asked before Sam could form the words.

Danny swallowed hard and nonchalantly wiped away ketchup and mustard from the corners of his mouth. "It's probably just the Box Gho-" _Oh shit..._

"Uh, my breath! It's just my breath. Woo!" Danny dropped his half-eaten burger onto his tray and started frantically rubbing his arms. "Is it just me? Or is a lil chilly in here?"

Sam raised an eyebrow quizzically, but resumed slowly chewing on her veggie burger. Tucker was mumbling something about the air conditioning and it being a thousand degrees outside, but was quickly distracted by his milkshake.

 _Phew! I've got to be more careful._ Danny sternly reminded himself. _Nobody knows. Just act like you do around Jack and Maddie._ He nodded to himself, and started to piece back together the contents of the burger he had dropped just moments ago. But just as he was about to take another bite, he felt another chill tickling and climbing up his spine. He could feel the cool cloud gather in the back of his throat, but he tried desperately not to release it.

His ghost sense, trapped in his mouth, grew colder and colder until he could feel tears forming at the corner of his eyes and immediately turning to beads of ice. In three swift movements, Danny flicked his hair into his eyes to conceal the ice crystal tears, pushed out abruptly from the table, and clasped his palm across his mouth as he bolted for the bathroom.

Everything happened within a few seconds, so Sam and Tucker were just left sitting, frozen, at the table. Their eyes transitioned from each other, to Danny's empty seat, to the direction in which Danny had run off.

"Is he okay?" Asked a waitress that had to side step a rushing Danny as to not be steamrolled. Sam and Tucker just slowly nodded in unison, not saying anything, equally as puzzled as the waitress. "I think I better go check on him..." Tucker said, almost asking permission or confirmation from either the waitress or Sam, who sat rooted in place, still blankly looking confused. "Mm," was all she could manage as agreement to his proposal as Tucker stood up from his chair and turned towards the men's restroom.

In the bathroom, Danny exhaled sharply as soon as the door behind him came to a close, not checking to make sure that all the stalls were clear. A rush of cold breath streamed from his mouth as he clutched the edge of the countertop, hunched over with his time medallion from Clockwork swinging back and forth like a pendulum. His lungs stung as he released his ghostly sense.

Danny looked up into the mirror above the sink of which he was hunched over, and carefully examined his face as he steadied his breathing. A few tiny crystals of ice were caught in his lower lid eyelashes at the corner of his eyes. He leaned in closer and delicately picked the crystals out of his lashes, depositing them in the sink. As he was finishing up, he noticed a red and yellow speck stuck to his chin. He turned on the water, cupped his hands beneath the stream, and leaned in to wash away the remnants of his burger. He switched the water to cold, cupped his hands again and took a sip from his palms when he heard footsteps just outside the restroom door.

Danny reached forward to turn the water off as Tucker pushed through the men's room door. Danny panicked, although he didn't really know why. He wasn't in ghost form, he was just normal Danny Fenton. Well, awkward, but human Danny Fenton.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Tucker was entering the men's room. Danny's time medallion was again swinging wildly to and fro from a series of jolting movements from turning the water off and turning to see Tucker entering through the door. _He can't see it_ , Danny thought. Instinctively, he brought up his right hand and clasped the medallion between his palm and the center of his chest as Tucker stopped mid-step.

Danny straightened up to greet his friend while trying to come up with some excuse for suddenly running off, but it took him a few seconds to realize that Tucker wasn't moving.

"Tuck?"

His hand was still pushed up against the door and his left foot was suspended a few inches off the tile floor of the men's room.

Danny shuffled towards him, wary of whether or not Tucker was playing some kind of prank, and waved his left hand in front of his friend's face all the while keeping the time medallion hidden against his chest.

Nothing. He didn't even blink. Danny held two fingers beneath Tucker's nose and noticed he wasn't even breathing.

"What the-"

 _ **Greetingssss, Phantom**_ , came a familiar voice.

Danny jumped back into a defensive stance, both fists clasped and ready at his sides. He looked around, searching for the source of the mysteriously familiar voice.

 _Where have I heard that voice before?_

 _ **Do you rememberrrr mmmmee?**_ It spoke again, echoing through the small room. A dark shadow spread over the tile of the bathroom floor in front of Danny's feet, and crept up Tucker's legs and onto the door and wall behind his time-frozen figure.

Danny spun around, transforming into Phantom in the process, knowing that his secret was safe from Tucker for the time being. Danny pounced up from the ground, and levitated just a few inches high as he turned to face the shadow's owner.

Only, there was no one behind him. Just the darkness of a creator-less shadow coating the walls and stall doors. Danny didn't know what to do, where to look, or even what to say as he racked his brain, trying to remember where he'd heard that voice before.

 _"IIIII have commme for youuu"_ the words replayed in his head from some other occasion, some other encounter...

His dream!

 _ **Ahhhh, noooowww you remember my voiccce.**_

"Who are you, and what do you want?!" Danny shouted at the ceiling.

 _ **Whyyyy, you knooooow what I'vvvve come forrr.**_

Out of the corner of his eye, Danny noticed a dark figure appear in the mirror to his left. He brought his fists up in front of him as he hovered backwards, back against the wall.

The head of the Chimera ghost from his dream the night before was staring him straight in the face, but in reality this time. Danny turned, but the restroom was still empty, as if the monster was trapped within the confines of the mirror.

Danny faced the mirror, furrowing his brow. "What. Do you want?"

The ghostly visitor didn't respond. It appeared to be getting closer, like the mirror was really some gate to another dimension. Maybe it was a makeshift ghost portal to the Ghost Zone? But just when it seemed the Chimera's head would emerge from the surface of the mirror, thick, smoky fog streamed out over the counter and onto the floor before Danny's feet.

 _ **Only youuuu can freeee meee from this hellll...**_

The restroom, which had grown darker and darker while the voice was speaking to Danny, returned to normal, and the air no longer felt as dense.

Danny's mind was running amuck. _It's real. It wasn't just a dream._ His thoughts were going between the events of his nightmare and the conversation that had just unfolded. _Me? Free you?_

Before Danny could contemplate any deeper, he heard thud come from behind him. _Tucker._

He tilted his head just enough to make out Tucker's dull tan work boot press against the tile of the floor as he resumed his stride through the bathroom door. Without letting another second pass, Danny disappeared, leaving only a cloud of white smoke in his wake.

The restroom door slowly swung shut as Tucker stood dumbfounded in the middle of the men's room.

"Danny?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"Danny?" Tucker stood in the middle of the Nasty Burger's empty men's restroom. "Dannnnyyyyy?" He called slowly as he absentmindedly leaned down to check if perhaps Danny was taking a dump in one of the stalls. _Didn't he come in here?_

Before the door behind him could close completely, a tall, brooding Casper High football player came bursting through. "Move, geek!" Dash called, shoving a bent over Tucker into the sinks before hurrying over to the last urinal.

"Oh sorry," was all Tucker could manage as he tried to wrap his mind around the situation. _Asshole._

Tucker stood up, turning away from Dash who was relieving himself, and aimlessly scratched his head as he exited the restroom. He slowly made his way back to Sam who was finishing off her veggie burger back at the table.

"Is Danny alright?" She asked as she delicately wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin.

"Dunno," Tucker didn't really know how to respond. _I was sure he went into the restroom..._

Sam furrowed her brow, unsatisfied with his response. "What do you mean, 'dunno'?"

"He wasn't in there."

"What?"

"He wasn't in there," Tucker repeated, thinking Sam didn't hear him the first time.

"I heard that, but where could he have gone if he's not in there?" Sam just looked up at Tucker who was standing behind his chair, looking down blankly at his melting chocolate shake.

"Maybe he went out the back door?" Tucker offered as he moved to take his seat. "I mean, he could have, right?"

Sam just slouched back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest in thought. "I guess. But why would he just leave like that?" Tucker just shrugged his shoulders as he resumed shoveling in spoonful after spoonful of chocolate ice cream into his mouth.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, quietly thinking to themselves, until Sam broke the stale air. "Do you think he's been a little...off? Today?" She asked Tucker as she leaned forward on the table and rested her chin in her palms.

"Whaddaya mean?" Tucker sputtered between mouthfuls of milkshake.

"Well," Sam took a deep breath, "we didn't hear from him all weekend, he freaked out over the Phantom article this morning, and I dunno, he just seems different. Maybe, like distant in a sense?"

"Mmm, maybe," Tucker mumbled as he scraped the last of the chocolate syrup from the bottom of the glass.

Sam suddenly pointed at the center of her chin, signaling to Tucker that he needed to wipe off some excess syrup. He understood the gesture, and quickly drug his mangled napkin across his mouth before saying, "Dude said he was sick."

"I don't buy it," Sam interjected quickly, not giving his statement much consideration. "Just seems odd to me."

"Maybe he's stressed out about school?"

"The semester just started."

"Maybe he's having issues with his parents?"

"They're always out hunting ghosts."

"Well, I don't know, Sam, maybe he's just having an off day. Happens to all of us." Tucker shrugged and shook his head in defeat. He didn't really notice anything off about his best friend like Sam had. Maybe he was just being oblivious to Danny's behavior, but he did think his disappearance was weird. "I wonder where he went," he said aloud.

"I'll try calling him," Sam offered, reaching beneath the table to grab her cell from her combat boot.

"Or not," Sam sat back up and held Danny's phone in her hand. "It must've fallen out when he ran off."

...

The two opted to walk over to Fenton Works, hoping Danny would be home so that they could return his phone and school bag to him. Tucker got stuck carrying Danny's backpack while Sam just twirled the phone in her hands as they walked.

"We should look at his phone."

"What?! Sam, no."

"Why not? He doesn't have a screenlock on it." Sam pressed the power button to prove to Tucker that the phone wasn't secure. The screen lit up to reveal a background of an old group picture of the trio, only Tucker had basically been cropped out of the frame.

"Oh, thanks man," Tucker was slightly offended that half of his face had been cut out, and suddenly had no problem snooping around Danny's phone. "Go for it."

Sam did a quick look over of their surroundings, just to make sure Danny hadn't somehow crept up on them when they were talking before swiping open the home screen.

 _What kind of pictures does he have in here?_ Sam thought to herself as she opened his gallery. She began to scroll through the few photos he had, but quickly closed out of the app before Tucker could catch a glimpse.

"What was it?"

"Nothing!" She stuttered as pink flooded her cheeks, blatantly lying. There were some group pictures of the three of them, pictures she'd never seen before, but mostly there were candid shots of _her_. She could feel the heat of her cheeks as her heartbeat rose and fluttered.

"Gimme that," Tucker commanded as he took the phone from Sam's hands. She began to protest, but he took it anyways and opened the internet app. "What kind of stuff has he been looking up..."

"You're disgusting," Sam frowned, having a pretty good idea what he was looking for. They were high school seniors after all.

He ignored her and clicked 'History'. He was a bit surprised to find a plethora of various newsfeeds and blogs about the ghost boy. "Huh?"

"What?" Sam asked anxiously, trying to look at the screen over Tucker's shoulder.

"It's all articles about the ghost boy," he handed the phone over to Sam so that she could see as they stopped walking. "Someone's got a boy crush," Tucker laughed.

"Oy!" Sam huffed and abruptly turned off the phone as she briskly took off walking towards Fenton Works that was just a few blocks away.

"What? It was a joke!" Tucker called after her as he began to jog. "Hey, wait up!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 _Shit!_ Danny cursed as he flew through the afternoon sky in no particular direction. _Shit, shit, shit!_ It was only his first day of pretending to be a normal teen, and he almost blew his cover because he was careless. _This is going to be_ a lot _harder than I originally thought_.

Danny knew how to keep a secret: the proof being that the entire world thought Phantom was just that - a ghost. Not some hybrid ghost-human with an alter ego of a high school senior. He had no problem keeping things under wraps, it would just take a great deal of effort to be as cautious and meticulous 24/7, 365 days a year in order to keep his extracurricular activities hidden from his two closest friends. Danny was so used to being open with them about everything - about his ghost-crazed parents, about the Ghost Zone, and about his ghostly abilities. From now on, he would have to take extra precautions to eliminate all "ghost talk" when hanging around Sam and Tucker.

Danny sighed as he gently hit his fist against his temple, hoping the shock from the punch would help this new reality sink in. But keeping his ghostly half a secret from Sam and Tucker wasn't the only issue weighing heavily on Daniel's shoulders.

"Just who is that ghost?" Danny said aloud as he gracefully landed atop Casper High with a subtle _thud_. Danny began to pace back and forth, right hand supporting his left elbow as he cupped his free hand beneath his chin in thought. He closed his eyes trying to recall the voice and appearance of the Chimera ghost that appeared to him in the men's restroom of the Nasty Burger.

 _Only youuuu can freeee meee from this hellll..._ The last words spoken by the beast before it disintegrated into smoke looped through Danny's head.

"Free you from what?" Danny, frustrated, threw his hands up in the air, and floated down to the ground to sit Indian style on the corner of Casper High's roof. He rested his head in his hands with his elbows propped against his outspread knees.

He thought back to the events of the men's restroom. He remembered how Tucker had just been frozen, mid step as he was walking through the door. Was he up against some time-controlling ghost like Clockwork? If he had that much power, why did he need Danny's help to get free?

Danny scratched at his chest absentmindedly, running his fingers across his medallion hidden snuggly beneath his black and white spandex.

"Right," he said as he traced the outline of the medallion with his middle finger, "I should probably go ask Clockwork." _Certainly he'll know what's going on._ And with that, Danny took off in the direction of Fenton Works, his destination being the ghost portal that was nestled away in his basement.

As Danny saw the Fenton Works sign peek out from the tops of the surrounding buildings and apartment complexes, he turned invisible as to refrain from attracting any unnecessary attention from below. He landed in an empty alley way, just a block away from Fenton Works, and transformed back into Danny Fenton. Not even a minute had passed and he was already ascending the front stairs to his home.

Danny was just going to go straight up to his room on the second floor, letting his parents aware that he had returned from school, then invisibly phase through to the basement and into the Ghost Zone. Except when he opened the front door, his parents were already waiting for him in the living room.

"Mom! Dad! I'm ho-" he called before he realized they were standing before him. "What's up?" Danny asked warily, not sure why they were waiting for him with arms crossed. Did the effects of the Reality Gauntlet wear off already? Did they suddenly remember everything that had taken place a few days ago? _Can't be_ , Danny thought, _otherwise they would've come for me at school instead of waiting patiently for me to return home._

Their expressions weren't too far off from the worst day of Danny's young life when they found out about his ghost half. But they didn't seem to have any weapons in hand and didn't approach him as he walked through the door...what was going on?

"Forget something?" Jack asked sternly.

Danny squinted his eyes trying to remember if he was supposed to pick something up from the store on his way home from school or if he forgot to take out the trash in the morning. He wasn't given much time to think when a second voice spoke from what he imagined to be the couch to his right.

"Hey Danny."

Danny looked over and saw Sam and Tucker sitting on the couch, his phone and backpack in their laps.

Where was his mind today? He got so caught up in his thoughts about this new Chimera ghost, that he totally forgot he had just abandoned his two best friends in the middle of their after school snack.

"Be more mindful of your belongings, Danny," his mother scolded him as she and Jack turned to go resume whatever they had been working on prior to Sam and Tucker's arrival.

"Mm," Danny acknowledged his mother before shuffling over to his friends seated on the couch. He mumbled a quick "thanks" as he hurriedly took his belongings from Sam and Tucker. Attempting to avoid an awkward confrontation between him and his friends, Danny immediately spun around to head up to his room on the second floor.

"Danny?" He froze mid-stride as his name was spoken from behind. "Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, man, you just up and left. Everything okay?" Tucker chimed in.

"Uh, yeah." Danny was mulling a couple different excuses around in his head, trying to think of the most believable scenario. "All of a sudden the burger didn't agree with my stomach. You know, after being sick over the weekend and all. Which I owe you for my tab-"

"You weren't in the bathroom when I went to check on you, though," Tucker was prying Danny for an explanation that he wasn't willing to give.

"Uh, yeah, took a wrong turn and ended up in the back alley. The door wouldn't open from the outside, so I just sat out back for a bit."

"Are you feeling better now, at least? And don't worry about the bill, I covered for you," Sam nudged Tucker in the side, noticing that Danny was getting a little finicky and uncomfortable.

Danny just nodded as he ran his fingers through his raven black hair, grateful that Sam had halted Tucker's onslaught of questions for the time being.

...

He had hoped is friends would leave after returning his phone and backpack, but they followed him up to his room. Closing the door behind her, Sam asked, "Danny, can we talk?"

"Bout what?" Danny was anxious for them to leave. He needed to go see Clockwork, and he didn't know how much time he had before the Chimera ghost returned. He certainly didn't want to get caught by Sam and Tucker right after his narrow escape back at the Nasty Burger. Spending the least amount of time with them as possible was his best option at the moment.

"We know," she said.

"Know what?" Shit! They couldn't have pieced things together already, could they? Just from his slip up at Nasty Burger when his ghost sense manifested? _No way_...Unless the Reality Gauntlet couldn't completely erase all of their memories of him as Danny Phantom. Maybe him being half-ghost was too big a part of their memories for the Reality Gauntlet to totally erase or replace them.

"Phantom," Tucker said as he took a seat on the corner of Danny's bed. Sam leaned up against Danny's dresser between Tucker and the door.

Danny nearly tripped over his own feet as Tucker spoke the word.

"How come you never t-"

"I can explain!" Danny whirled around in a frenzy, the color draining from his cheeks.

"We didn't know you liked him so much."

"I-huh?"

"You never told us you were a Phan," Sam chuckled at her pun.

Danny just stared between his two friends on the opposite side of the room from him, both of which had gentle expressions on their faces. He had to take a minute to process what they were saying, before relaxing knowing his secret was still safe.

"I, uh...how'd you know?" He was still uncertain of what they were actually talking about, so he tried turning the conversation on them.

"Little miss nosey over here," Tucker jerked his head at a blushing Sam, "thought it was a good idea to go through your phone before bringing it back here."

"My phone?"

" _We_ found a whole bunch of Phantom articles in your browser history," Sam emphasized that it was a group effort.

Danny was furious. He was mad at himself for being careless enough to leave his things behind, but he trusted that his friends would respect his privacy no matter what.

"You went through my phone?!" Danny's voice was steadily rising and getting louder. Sam and Tucker briefly looked at each other, and Danny had a feeling they hadn't comprehended that their actions were wrong.

"Dude, it's not that big a deal," Tucker defended.

"Not that big-Do I go through your personal shit?"

Danny only ever cursed when he was really furious. Sam and Tucker were beginning to realize that had struck a nerve, and that maybe going through his phone without his permission wasn't the best thing to do. Sam tried to apologize, but was promptly cut off when Danny abruptly raised his arm and pointed a stiff finger towards the door they had just come through.

"Go."

His two best friends were hesitant to move, not knowing whether they should ask for forgiveness for their immature behavior or if they should just zip it and go home. Tucker looked as if he was about to speak, but then Danny exclaimed,

"Now!"

They hurried out, stunned by the turn of events that had just occurred, but they understood that they had upset their friend.

Suddenly Danny's mood had gone to shit, but his decision to erase their memories of his ghost half was turning out to be a good one. The invasion of privacy definitely pissed Danny off, but he couldn't let that get in the way of what was really important at the moment: getting answers. Right now he needed to push unnecessary thoughts and emotions to the side and focus on the task at hand.

"Clockwork," Danny said to himself, a determined look on his face. White rings appeared at his waste and traveled over his fit, slender figure to reveal a sleek jumpsuit, glowing green eyes, and snow white hair. Phantom was on a mission, and off to the Ghost Zone he flew.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello again! Sorry to keep you waiting for the next chapter...school is getting hectic again. Plus, writer's block sucks! Anyways, I hope you enjoy Chapter 8. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE REVIEWS...I love to read the comments :)

Danny flew, eyebrows furrowed as he raced through the mysterious green realm that was the Ghost Zone. He was furious, but he didn't really know who to direct his anger at. Was he mad at his friends for invading his privacy and breaking his trust? Or was he mad at himself for having so many hiccups so soon after creating his "normal" life with the Reality Gauntlet? Maybe both.

Absent-mindedly, Danny brought his hand up to his chest and rested his hand over the medallion nestled between his skin and the material of his suit. Putting the impending issue of a new ghost that was seemingly stalking Danny, he was going to need help getting his life back to a manageable state. Somehow he's got to be able to balance school and what little social life he had all while keeping his secret a secret. He was sure Clockwork would be able to help him.

Arriving at the doors to Clockwork's castle, Danny didn't bother knocking, but instead just let himself in. He highly respected his ghostly ally, but he was in a funk and he had so many questions weighing on his mind that needed answering.

"Clockwork!" He meant it more as a question, asking if the Time Master was in, but his salty attitude leaked into his voice making his tone a pinch more rough.

"Welcome, young ghost child," Clockwork calmly greeted him with his smooth, silky voice. Danny turned in the direction from which the voice came, and saw Clockwork in his adult form descending a side staircase as he entered the massive entryway. The ghost boy nodded in acknowledgement of his greeting, and without a word, followed him into the Observation Room.

Clockwork wandered about room in silence, so Danny took the initiative, and spoke first. "Clockwork, I need-"

"Help." The Time Master finished Phantom's sentence. Danny stammered a little bit from being cut off, but continued on, "Well, that too, but I really need answers."

"What you need is guidance," Clockwork corrected him.

Danny's mood wasn't getting any better with Clockwork's cryptic, roundabout way of getting to the issues at hand. Time was of the essence, maybe not to a Time Master, but for Danny, time wasn't his to control.

Transitioning into an elder ghost, Clockwork floated over to where Danny was standing and began circling him slowly.

"Oh, but you can," Clockwork spoke.

Can what? Danny hadn't said anything, only silently steamed while trying to calm his nerves in an attempt to have a rational conversation with his mentor.

"You can control time."

"Control time?"

"Indeed," Clockwork mused as he examined the confused expression upon Danny's face. He slowed his pace as he hovered behind Danny, and just observed him as if he could see the gears turning inside the ghost boy's head. When it didn't seem like the boy's brows could furrow any further, Clockwork gave him a hint.

"Have you already forgotten about my gift?"

Just then, a light bulb went off. Danny gingerly lifted the medallion chain over his head of snow white hair as Clockwork rounded his shoulder and stopped to hover face to face with the ghost boy.

Danny didn't see the Time Master who was now directly in front of him. Instead, the bathroom scene from Nasty Burger played through his head. He remembered how Tucker had just frozen, mid-stride as he was entering the men's room. Was that his doing? _I thought it was one of that Chimera ghost's powers._

"I'm disappointed in you, Phantom," Clockwork teased, but in all actuality, Danny picked up on the seriousness in his tone.

"So this can stop time?" Danny asked, looking up from his palm that held the medallion to meet the gaze of Clockwork's child form floating in front of him.

"Momentarily in the human realm, yes," he clarified. "I created it for you for the purpose of avoiding ghostly incidents when in the company of your friends, family, and classmates."

 _So like a timeout for when the Box Ghost comes to terrorize the Drama Department..._

"Nice of you to tell me this now," Danny's annoyance masked his excitement.

Clockwork just eyed the boy, dissatisfied with his response, before wandering off and pacing the Observation Room.

"You've already discovered it's power, have you not?"

"...yes."

"And you're identity is still secret, is it not?"

"...yes," Danny answered stubbornly.

"Then, no harm done, yes?"

Danny shrugged in agreement, realizing the Time Master had a valid point. He was secretly excited to try out his new gadget now that he knew of its power, but that sensation was clouded by the realization that the perfect "normal" life he had tried to create would always remain just a fantasy.

He thought back to the battle with Freakshow and the events that had ensued - his identity being exposed and consequently wiping everyone's recollection of it with the Reality Gauntlet. So long as he still possessed his ghostly abilities, he'd always be fated to fight ghosts whether he really wanted to or not.

"So it was all pointless," Danny said drably as he once again fastened the medallion chain around his neck and tucked the pendant away beneath the spandex of his suit. "I'll never be able to live a normal life, will I?"

Clockwork looked upon the frustrated boy from across the room, eyes full of empathy, before speaking: "You are destined for great things, Daniel."

Danny scoffed, his sour mood overcoming his temporary enlightenment from discovering the power of Clockwork's medallion. "Great things," he joked, "I can't even go out for a burger without slipping up."

"It's just a matter of practice," Clockwork encouraged with a thin, half smile. "Besides, don't you have more important things to worry about?"

Danny raised an eyebrow, momentarily dumb-founded by what Clockwork was trying to get at. _The Chimera ghost_ , Danny thought as he remembered why he came to the Ghost Zone in the first place.

"Do you know who he is?" Danny figured Clockwork would be able to tell him just who he was up against.

Clockwork paused for a brief period, as if evaluating whether or not it was in his best interest to answer Phantom. As a Master of Time, he abided by a strict code of secrecy as to not disrupt the natural occurrence of things. He supposed a name and a past were details of little significance, and therefore were safe to divulge to Danny.

"He's known as the Alchemist," Clockwork noted as various images of the Chimera ghost appeared upon the orb-like screens throughout the Observation Room.

Danny's interest peaked at his name. He briefly scanned the few images of the ghost before realizing one vital detail: the beast was pieced together like Frankenstein. Lizard arms, dragon's tail, ram's head and horns, not to mention its stomach-turning red hide - he was a puzzle of various mythic creatures.

"The Alchemist? As in real alchemy?" Danny asked before continuing, "I thought that was just a myth."

Clockwork choked back a soft chuckle at the boy's innocence, and offered, "More like a forbidden art that has largely died out since his era."

The ghost boy mulled Clockwork's words around in his head. Chimera. Alchemy. Forbidden art. Alchemists are, or at least were, essentially the equivalents of witches and wizards of modern day fairy tales.

 _Only you can set me free..._ The phrase rang in his ear from his encounter with The Alchemist back at the Nasty Burger. Things just weren't adding up though. Of what use could a measly teenager be to a creature whose only limitation was the extent of his own imagination?

"If he's a true alchemist, then he can create anything out of anything else. What does he need me for?"

"To be free and take over the Ghost Zone, no doubt," Clockwork knew what Danny would ask before the words even came out of the young half ghost's mouth. "He is prisoner to a realm of no substance, and thereby..."

"...can't escape." Danny understood now, but he couldn't imagine why he'd willingly release a prisoner, let alone a ghost as powerful as the mysterious Alchemist. "There's no way I'd release him even if I knew where the hell he is."

The orb screens returned to a swirling mirage of green as an adult Clockwork turned away from where Danny stood.

"He's not the only one you have to worry about," Clockwork warned as an air of tension overcame the room. He briefly wondered if he had over spoke by leaking too much information, but Danny needed to understand what he was up against.

"Who else?" Danny's tone was urgent. An odd sensation in his gut was telling him that something big was about to come his way. He thought back to all of the toughest ghosts he's faced throughout his career as Danny Phantom. He'd had his fair share of rough bouts, but he'd always managed to emerge victorious. Skulker, Vlad, Freakshow, Technus, Nocturn, Fright Knight, Undergrowth, Pariah Dark. He's defeated all of them, some even on multiple occasions. But each time he had help...

This time Clockwork couldn't give Danny the answer he was looking for. He merely responded, "Time will tell." Classic cryptic Clockwork. Danny ought to be satisfied with what he did manage to get out of the Master of Time.

The ghost boy put up a front, refusing to show any wavering emotions in the presence of his mentor. He puffed out his chest and tried to sound confident, but really he sounded like an insecure hard ass. "I can take 'em, whoever it is."

"Alone?" Clockwork saw right through his façade, and called his bluff.

As much as Danny didn't want to seem vulnerable, they both knew Clockwork was right. Danny was completely alone now - no more ghost fighting trio with Sam and Tucker. Protecting Amity Park with his two best friends always by his side had caused Danny to rely heavily on them for back up. Was he really as strong as he thought he was? Or were his friends just picking up his slack? And since when had he let his guard down?

He mentally scolded himself for getting accustomed to exposing two humans to the dangers of his ghost fighting activities. _They can handle it_ , he always thought. But they shouldn't have had to. He should be able to fight hard and strong enough for all three of them, even back when they knew of his ghost half. They should've only had to rely on him, not the other way around. And now that they were no longer by his side as part of his ghost fighting team, Danny had to straighten up his act. He needed to get stronger.

Clockwork circled the boy as the gears worked inside his young mind. Danny's expression turned into one of determination, and looked as if he had been born into a new light, breaking the shackles of naivety. Clockwork knew what was coming next - he had foreseen it - and he was prepared to agree to the terms that were about to come from the halfa's lips.

"Train me."


	9. Story Update

Hello my lovely followers and fanfic readers!

First off I want to apologize for the huge break in chapter uploads - senior year of college is quite hectic! Anyways, now that it's summer, I plan to revise my last 8 chapters and continue on with the story very soon! Thank you for your patience and I hope you will anticipate what I have next for you!

Happy reading,

PhantomWriterDenver 3


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